AP PHOTOS: Hong Kong democracy protest sites, 1 year later

HONG KONG (AP) — A year ago, Hong Kong's famously busy streets were shut down by pro-democracy activists who occupied them for 79 days in what became known as the "Umbrella Movement."

The protests were led by students and other activists who took to the streets to voice their opposition to Beijing's plan to restrict elections for the leader of the semiautonomous Chinese city.

During the protests, huge crowds jammed the streets outside of the government headquarters on Sept. 26, 2014, after police arrested the popular teenage student leader Joshua Wong and others and held them for two days.

Police attempts to scatter the crowds by using tear gas backfired, enraging the protesters and kick-starting their rally, which some called the Umbrella Movement and others dubbed Occupy Central.

The movement fizzled out as the government stuck to a hard line and authorities eventually cleared out all three protest camps.

Traffic and pedestrians reclaimed the three sites, and today there are few visible signs left of Hong Kong's most tumultuous period since its handover from Britain in 1997.